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OSR Unhinged Review - Microsoft Xbox360 XLIG

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  • OSR Unhinged Review - Microsoft Xbox360 XLIG

    OSR: Unhinged developer, Riddlersoft, state that the inspiration for this and the first OSR (Old School Racer) game comes from old 2D and platform games, rather than Trials HD. However, they have done well here to take cool ideas from Trials and apply them to the OSR games. Regardless of where it all comes from, the end result in Unhinged is a quality game that will appeal to anyone that loved Trials, but this also carves its own niche.
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    It’s a 2D motorbike trials game, controlled via the careful matching of appropriate acceleration/braking with body lean position (forward/back/center) to ensure smooth landings, exact jump transfer distances and obstacle clearing. Some obstacles are scenery and thus immobile, whilst others are loose and thus affected by physics, such as the rotation of the wheels of the bike, or just impact force of being landed on.
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    Many levels have multiple routes, some of which are for experimenting with completion time and others are for finding the hidden golden bike tokens, necessary for unlocking more levels. This turns into a bit of a Metroid-style puzzle whereby you can often see the tokens but can’t reach them with the current bikes available, so you need to revisit old levels with newer unlocked machines to take advantage of their increased acceleration or speed (or both). This is great because on returning to older levels you immediately see how your skills and mastery of controls have increased since you first played them, thus appreciating the thought that has gone into exactly how the game plays.
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    In addition to normal physics, some sections bend the brain and the physics by allowing you to ride vertically or upside down, or even float. This is all clearly signposted, so works well.
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    There are a substantial amount of increasingly difficult stages, and (for those that found some of the "technique" stages in Trials HD to be just too fiddly) you’ll be pleased to know that the balance here is more in favour of doable fun rather than insane pixel/timing perfect obstacles. Even all the Unhinged levels will leave a smile on the face rather than a tired grimace.
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    The whole game is presented in a decidedly old school fashion, with levels comprised of single digit colour scenery that whizzes along at breakneck speed and a simply but effectively animated bike and rider. The main thing separating this from games of yesteryear is the advanced physics engine which is perfectly pitched between realistic and fun/lunacy.
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    The front end makes tracking level progression easy, pointing out times and remaining tokens. In addition to the main levels, there are fun challenges like ball riding and long jump. Online leaderboards would presumably have the incredible draw of competitive challenge with your friends, but unfortunately we were one of the few people for whom they are not working properly. This is due to be fixed in a future update.

    If you liked Trials, you will like OSR: Unhinged. However, for less than the price of Trials HD DLC, you are getting a whole game. If you liked the idea of Trials but found it too frustrating on the later technique levels, you will prefer this. Essential for action biking junkies needing a new fix and may also appeal to platform exploration fans due to the accessibility of the controls and well thought out difficulty curve.

    Pros:
    - Great controls
    - Good level design
    - Token hunting

    Cons:
    - None

    Developer: Riddlersoft
    Publisher: Microsoft
    XBLIG
    Eur
    1 player
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